Report: U.S. citizen detained in North Korea

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — An 85-year-old American veteran of the Korean War has been detained in North Korea since last month, his family said Wednesday.

The son of Merrill Newman told the San Jose Mercury News (http://bit.ly/1bR1wdV ) that his father was taken off a plane set to leave North Korea on Oct. 26. Jeffrey Newman said no reason was given.

Newman, from Palo Alto, Calif., was traveling with Bob Hamrdla, who was allowed to return.

Hamrdla said in a statement that "there has to be a terrible misunderstanding. I hope that the North Koreans will see this as a humanitarian matter and allow him to return to his family as soon as possible."

The U.S. State Department wouldn't confirm the detention, and North Korea's state media has yet to comment.

The detention comes about a year after North Korea detained another American. North Korea has detained at least six other Americans since 2009.

According to a newsletter at the Channing House retirement complex in Palo Alto, Calif., where Newman has lived with his wife, Lee, since 2011, Newman spent three years as an infantry officer in the Korean War.

Newman also took Korean language lessons in preparation for what he intended would be a 10-day trip to North Korea, accompanied by two Korean guides, according to another edition of the newsletter.

"He's always wanted to go to North Korea," Jeffrey Newman told the Mercury News. "It's been a lifelong thing."

The younger Newman said that the day before his father was scheduled to return home, he met with North Korean officials who asked him about his Army service.

Because the United States has no diplomatic relations with North Korea, Jeffrey Newman says the family has been working through State Department officials and the Swedish Embassy to secure his father's freedom.

The Swedish ambassador also delivered his father's heart medication to the North Korean Foreign Affairs Ministry, Newman's son said.

The State Department on Tuesday heightened a travel warning for North Korea but did not link the advisory to Newman's detainment or even confirm he is being held.